Fears and first days

I have arrived in Smithers safe and sound. However it was not the most enjoyable flight over. I have been on planes plenty of times before. I am no stranger to flying and have never, to my recollection, experienced anxiety inside an aeroplane. This time around however an inexplicable feeling of dread and fear built inside of me as the plane was moving to the runway. During take-off was the worst part, this strange feeling didn't relent and I found myself extremely agitated and upset about the ordeal. However now after having more time to compose myself and really think about what happened, I do not think it was fear. I have been planning this trip for nearly eight months, and I believe the shock of it finally being time to go, as well as the emotional farewell to my family and best friend at the airport had shaken me and what was masquerading as fear during the ascent was actually a mixture of a whole bunch of emotions that I can't begin to describe accurately. Thankfully the second flight on to Smithers was not as bad, and I arrived in what must be one of the smallest airports I have ever seen. It was literally one hall with check in, arrivals, departures and security all in the one room.

Anyway with all of that behind me, I was driven to NLWS. The shelter is deceptively large. What looked at first sight to be a small area with a main house and some cabins, actually extends well into the surrounding areas with the bear and moose pens further away up a hill. I was taken on a tour the morning after I arrived and met all of the animals currently at the shelter and learnt their stories.

The first animal I met was Igor the European lynx. Igor was rescued from a woman who was a collector of big cats. She had tigers and lynx all at her home and when Igor was brought to the shelter he was extremely skinny and emaciated. However looking at him now I would never have known this, he looks healthy and happy. Unfortunately he cannot be released into the wild, so instead of putting down a healthy animal he has been tamed, and lives a very nice life, in his own little area away from the main house. When I went up there today I was able to scratch behind his ears and he wanted to play with my shoes as I was walking! It was very surreal seeing a large lynx playing just like a little kitten.

Also at the shelter now are two foxes, some moose, two owls and Helena (a cougar that also cannot be released, however is not tame) and then all the small mammals such as the guinea pigs, rabbits and rats that are bred for food for the large carnivores. Unfortunately there are no bears at the shelter right now. This is the first time in 13 years they have no bears on the facility. Peter explained to me that there is currently a disease spreading around British Columbia that affects the liver, and it meant that a lot of the bears that went into hibernation last year didn't wake up in the spring. Each year around early summer the owners and volunteers at the shelter drive thousands of miles all over the province releasing the bears they have been caring for, and Peter also explained that is was very unusual this year, in that throughout all their travels, they didn't see one bear in the wild, which is very unnerving as there was a time when they could be seen very often.

The surrounding area is absolutely stunning, the shelter is located away from the town and has amazing views of the surrounding mountains, in fact from my bedroom window I have a clear view of the largest mountain and the glacier on it. I wish I could upload some photos however I have been told that internet usage works very differently here, and that uploading photos can increase the cost. Hopefully I can upload some in the future but for now I don't want to incur any unnecessary costs.